She’s unresponsive and shaking while also avoiding eye contact with me.
“Uh Ilsa? You’re good?”
“Uh.. Yes.. I’m good, I have something to do bye” she rushes quickly past me with her hand trembling and shaking.
I look back at her and said.
“Catch you later?” I said it back to her from behind, but she didn’t respond to my call.
And then professor Hugo appears at the end of the corridor, and she lunges to his embrace, and Hugo seems to calming her down while patting her head and they walk away together.
“Huh, weird, I guess she just don’t want to see my anymore??”
I didn’t think anything of it and just moved on. Not long after my work hours ended, I packed my things up at the campus to go home. But this time, I was in the mood to enjoy the campus scenery and clear my head, so I wandered around. When I passed the Research of the Mind department, I walked by to see if Ilsa was still around, just to see her one more time before leaving. I don’t know why I did this, but once again, it just my concern perhaps. When I was almost near her research room, which she and Hugo shared, I heard voices coming from inside.
“Dr Hugo, she’s gorgeous yo! Hahahaha i couldn’t believe you would get this beauty in this shithole planet hahaha”.
What the hell is this voice? I started to listening closely and moving closer without making a sound to the room.
“She’s now good, I put her under the control, beside smart she also have this voluptuous body hahaha” this time it’s Hugo’s voice.
“Damn what a good girl she’s obedient little kitty hahaha” sounds like different voice from the first one I heard
“Now, now doctor, shall we do it together all of us in here??” this one seems like the first voice that talked before.
“Of course, right Ilsa?” Hugo speaks again.
“Y-yes.. Please.. Please give me…” This time it’s Ilsa, it’s definitely Ilsa.
Hearing Ilsa’s voice, I quickly peeked through the slit window in the room. There, inside, were three men. One was Hugo, and the other two I didn’t recognize. Their pants were off, and there was Ilsa. She was chained like a pet, wearing cat-ear headbands. Her expression, her eyes, were those of a nearly hypnotized person, and she was giggling while looking at the lower halves of the three men. I was furious at the sight of this scene. And then, one of the men said…
“Come my kitty, swallow mine, hahahaha” and then they all laughed.
I couldn’t hold my rage no more, i furiously slammed the door to the room quickly shout.
“BASTARD!! WHAT THE FUCK ARE ALL OF YOU THINKING!!”
All of them were looking at me, including Ilsa. I glanced at Ilsa for a second and then focused my attention on the three men. I clenched my fists, ready to fight these assholes, but they just laughed at me.
“Look someone wants to join, hahahaha” said one of the man
“Ohh you should’ve told us we have more company Hugo” said another one.
“Ohh pardon my immodesty gents, and of course Eric Rossvolt, i didn’t know why you still on campus but if you want to join us, come in Hahahahaha” said Hugo while laughing at me.
“FUCK OFF, LET HER GO RIGHT NOW!!”
Two of the men besides Hugo then laughing and says. “Whoa, whoa seems we have the big guy here hahahaha”
“Yeah, the Hero that save the day hahaha”
“Easy, Mr. Rossvolt, do you think we are afraid of someone of your caliber? Ahahahaha, beside this is fruit of her research, she endure herself of this activity, in order to funds her academic research because he family went bankrupt a year ago, to ease the pain she wants me to teach her the mental fortitude technique, AHAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT A WAY TO ENDURE THE PAIN, NOW SHE WAS DEEP IN ITS PLEASURE!!! DON’T YOU SEE IT, SHE IS THE ONE WHO WANTS ALL OF THIS, ALL OF THIS FOR MONEY MR ROSSVOLT!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!”
I was shocked and dumbfounded, standing still. Memories flashed before me: the time she taught me the technique, everything we’d done together. Then I remembered when she first explained why this technique would be important.
“It could theoretically protect us from, you know mind eater or mind-altering substance or to cope the pain… From something we want to forget”
“to cope the pain…”
“so it was from that time… Why don’t you ask for help… Ilsa…” echoes in my head.
“AGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!! FUCK OFF ALL OF YOU!!!” I scream as I lunge toward one of the man.
But as soon as I lunged, one of the men grabbed my neck and strangled me. He was taller and more muscular than me; from the start, it seemed my chances of doing anything to them were abysmal. That’s why they were so confident about fending me off.
“Ughh… Ghh…” I can’t let my voices out, I get locked.
“Hahahahaha now, now now, see what we telling you before? You should’ve join us” said the man who strangled me.
“Right, hahahaha” said the man beside him.
“You can’t win Mr. Rossvolt, these two are military general, they have artifacts and they were superficially enhanced human that went to the moon, you basically grant yourself a death ticket” said Hugo.
While amidst all of this Ilsa continue to please Hugo while i was seeing it strangled.
“OOOHHH, that’s right Ilsa, don’t stop, just ignore him hahaha” Hugo respond to her action.
Meanwhile, i.. I was almost certain i would be dead here, strangled by this man in this forsaken place, with the girl that I consider as a friend having to please assholes in the front of me, while they’re laughing at my misery.
My mind went blank, I passed out and drifted,
“All of this shit, and i can’t do nothing? What a failure of a man i am…”
“I hope my sister doesn’t mind if i died like this… Well… I would’ve mind…”
Something come back at me… Ilsa’s last word about the technique…
“hypnotized yourself to do something unbelievable in reality, if you could project your inner thought and make your inner domain be your own body”
“The final lesson eh, sounds like this is the trial…”
“Would i be able to do it?…”
…
From the chaotic waves caused by the serpent, a deafening shockwave could be heard. It launched something from the surface into the sky—a figure. It was Eric! Somehow, he was able to launch himself from the surface with supersonic speed toward the serpent. The serpent noticed Eric, and Eric smiled, his eyes widening. As adrenaline coursed through his body, Eric laughed.
“Of course” Eric said, laughing maniacally at the precipice, then punched the serpent.
The impact of his punch sent shockwaves through the air. The serpent’s direction was altered, and its jaw was forced closed, then it fell. The creature was dumbfounded and utterly shaken to see what had just happened, but Eric didn’t seem to care about the creature as he punched the serpent again and again until it was pushed back into the water. The serpent then recoiled and raised its head again from the water, now changing its focus to Eric instead of the creature. Eric, still maintaining his smile, fell back down to the surface, all the while looking at the serpent.
A grin spreads across Eric’s face, a genuine smile of pure joy. He clenches his fists again, and made a stance in anticipation. He’s not thinking about the creature that reached out for him, and not about the danger of the situation. He’s thinking about the fight, focusing only to a singular point in his mind, and that was. Fight.
The serpent lunged forward toward him, its jaws agape. Eric, still smiling, also launched himself far above the serpent. The serpent was locked in its position, unable to change its course due to momentum, its gaze fixed on Eric above it. Eric followed its movement, plunging downward toward the serpent’s head. He punched it again, the shockwave vibrating the surrounding air. The serpent was stunned by the impact and snapped its jaws shut immediately. But Eric didn’t stop punching; he kept hitting the beast repeatedly.
The repeated shockwaves created deafening sounds. The serpent roared for the first time after receiving the multiple blows. Meanwhile, not far from the scene, the creature that had reached out to Eric before was now dumbfounded and shocked by what it had just witnessed. It simply sat on the surface of the water, watching the conflict unfold.
Eric launched himself back from the top of the serpent’s head. As the serpent felt the impact, it raged, moving its body, whirling the water, and roaring, its gaze once again fixed on Eric, who had landed on the water’s surface. The serpent then plunged into the sea, swirling and moving in a circle at blazing speed. Water began to swirl in front of Eric, who kept his stance sturdy. A tornado vortex began to form on the surface of the sea—a ferocious one. The water current in the vortex moved rapidly upward, and with it, a shadowy silhouette followed. It was the serpent; it had formed a water vortex. Then, from the top of the water, the serpent emerged, its head appearing while its body remained within the vortex. Seeing this, Eric laughed, a sound of pure, unadulterated joy. Lost in the moment, oblivious to everything but the battle, he now faced the force of nature.
The sea where Eric was standing was unstable because of the vortex, but his eyes remained focused on the serpent. The serpent moved the vortex, leaning it downward toward Eric. The serpent’s eyes were fixed on Eric, burning with fury. But there was something else in those eyes, a flicker of… amusement? Intrigue?
“Is that all you got, fish-face?!” Eric yelled.
The serpent roared again in response and lunged with the vortex toward Eric. Eric responded by also launching himself upward toward the serpent. The creature before, however, was caught between the battle. It screamed in terror, a high-pitched, desperate cry for help, a plea for mercy. Because the vortex was shaking the water’s surface and causing huge tidal waves, it was swept away. As it tried to escape the churning currents created by the serpent’s vortex, it couldn’t. Though it couldn’t drown, the waves washed over it, pulling the creature in every direction imaginable.
The creature was now an insignificant bystander, caught in the chaos. It cried out, its voice barely audible amidst the serpent’s roar and the raging waves. It seemed the creature wanted to reach out to Eric, a gesture of desperate pleading to stop the chaos, but Eric, still focused on the fight, couldn’t hear nor notice anything around him. The creature’s cries became distorted, unintelligible, and then were washed out by the waves.
Back in the medical facility, Eric’s physical body begins to tremble and shaking. The machine monitoring his vitals displays a series of erratic readings, flash of warnings started to appear on the screen. But it’s not an error message, it’s also not a sign of the serum failing or overwhelming him. The medic’s tablet that connected to the machine displays a contradictory message:
“Injection Successful. Antibody Integration in Progress… Stabilized.”
The readings are fluctuating, the machine struggling to reconcile the successful injection phase with the ongoing, but seemingly stalled, antibody integration. The word “Stabilized” flickers on the tablet screen, then disappears, reappearing a moment later in repetition.
“What’s happening?” the medic wonder to themselves.
“The machine… it’s never done this before.”
“The readings… they’re conflicting,” as they checks the tablet again.
“It’s like… the serum has been accepted, but the antibodies… they’re not… integrating?”
The medic then turns to the priestess, “Have you ever seen anything like this before?” with slightly worried voice.
The priestess, with her face displayed a surprised expression, shakes her head. “No,” she whispers.
“This is unprecedented, i have never seen anything like this before, was it the same as the one named Jaxon before?”
The medic then replied, “The previous one before has an error indicator, the indicator said the serum successfully injected but the effect would’ve taken more time to adjust to the person’s body”
“This one is successful, but even so why his body is shaking?” continues the medic.
Just as the serpent and Eric were about to clash, the vision faded. Eric opened his eyes; he was back in the medical facility. He stared with a blank expression at the white ceiling above, the battle, the aftermath, the adrenaline still coursing through him. He suddenly realized that it had just halted; he felt deep down that the battle wasn’t over. It had just begun. After he opened his eyes, the medic and the priestess looked at him instantly and asked him right away.
“Are you okay Mr. Rossvolt?” ask the priestess gently in a worried voice to Eric.
“Anything unusual happened? You feel something recruit?” the medic followed.
Eric looking at the medic and priestess faces just scoff and said.
“I think it went well, i don’t have any major problem or notice anything unusual”
The medic and the priestess look at each other, nodded and then, they released Eric from the machine and help him to stands up.
“Alright recruit, go to the back, you’re qualified to continuing to attuning phase” as the medic said this, they checks their tablet and write something on it.
“Please, if you feel sick or anything unusual, ask the officer nearby to help” the priestess said gently to Eric while offering him a hand to stand up.
Eric accepted the help and tries to stand up, as Eric and the priestess hand hold and touch each other, the priestess feels a bit zap like electricity spark from Eric’s hand, and by reflex released her hand, Eric surprised and ask the priestess.
“Uh? Mam? Are you okay?”
“Eh-, Y-Yes, I’m sorry Mr. Rossvolt” as if she snaps back to reality, she hold Eric’s hand again, but this time there was no spark or anything.
And then Eric goes to the back of the facility to begin the next phase. After some time all the recruit have passed successfully with the injection phase, all the medics and the priestess have fulfilled their duty and about to be dismissed, but the medic and the priestess that handle Eric before, curious about something in their mind.
The medic lifts their masked and googles, revealing the long tied black hair, tired looking lady, while the priestess also disable their visor and it also open up her face, they started conversation.
“Hey, Ms. Yori, do you think something unusual about recruit number 785, the one named Eric Rossvolt” ask the priestess to the medic.
“He’s the unusual one, but the serum still works so no protocol needed for any abnormalities” said the medic back to the priestess.
“But when I touch his hand for the first time, I felt a spark and then i saw a big serpent like the one in the Kaelion House’s symbol, just like when we did accept the serum and see the image for the first time, but this time it was staring at me with furious stare, and it was roaring at me too, I stand still can’t move a muscles there, i was terrified…”
“Don’t think much of it, it was probably the after effect of the serum, we all felt something different anyway when we first got injected, but everyone knows that the serpent will protect us from the Voiders right? At least that’s what the church always told us” replied the medic.
“Yes.. But I don’t know why it’s angry at me and looking a me like that, isn’t the effect supposed to be gone when the cycle of the serpent devour the evil ends?”
“Don’t ask me I don’t know shit about any of the specific details, I thought you know it better because you choose to be a priestess, isn’t it Venna?”
“Hmmm, I will ask or look it up later, for now let’s grab some meals on our way out” said the priestess cheerfully.
“Fine by me” the medic replied.
“I hope that recruit get a good artifact later so he doesn’t ended-up in the shittiest place on the moon” the medic chuckles as she said this.
Now, on the back of the facility there’s a lift that will take everyone down to the bottom of the base, everyone who passed the serum injection phase will be carried by this lift, above the lift there’s hologram of Kaelion Enterprise symbol lights up by the laser below around the edge of the front side, as all the recruit who passed are lined up again, now the numbers are almost the same as before, with few of the people who were there missing, this due to the side effect, so some people will get rehabilitated first before continuing the phase, in the line there are Eric, Darius, Lena, Jaxon and Jin among the others. The hologram changes, revealing once again the familiar figure, it was.
“Hellooooo, everyone!!! Congratulations to all of you in here who passed the injection phase!!, now now we will shortly begin the next phase!! So don’t forget to lift your spirit up!! Cuz after this we are going to fly!!!! To the space!!!” Negi-chan appeared again and cheering for the recruits.